I haven't even bothered to manage to check out listserv of the OCA board. How do they get the buzz of whats going on on Laity-level when we have a problem? Do they read this and other fora(s)? What do they think?

I haven't even bothered to manage to check out listserv of the OCA board. How do they get the buzz of whats going on on Laity-level when we have a problem? Do they read this and other fora(s)? What do they think?

If a layperson has a problem, then he or she may contact their Bishop directly via phone, correspondence, going to the Cathedral they are seated at. I've gone up to my Bishop during coffee hour after Liturgy to express my concerns/ask for a blessing.

While it's not impossible for the Bishops to read forums such as this, I hardly think they have the time to do so.

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"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jer 29:11

Do bishops in the likelihood address some rather controversial stuff like who making the right call in their Synod? Decision of the Holy Synod of Antioch thread comes to mind. People here can be very divisive when we agree to disagree but has a bishop made a pronouncement on things that OC.net played a role?

Indirectly at least: in the issue in Antioch, the legal documents on OCAnews was involved, and some of them were from OC.net

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Question a friend, perhaps he did not do it; but if he did anything so that he may do it no more.A hasty quarrel kindles fire,and urgent strife sheds blood.If you blow on a spark, it will glow;if you spit on it, it will be put out; and both come out of your mouth

While it's not impossible for the Bishops to read forums such as this, I hardly think they have the time to do so.

You might be surprised...

I imagine that Bishop Tikhon may like to be invited here. He is retired now from the see of San Francisco and still enjoys making some very knowledgeable contributions to other Orthodox forums (fora if you like. )

I imagine that Bishop Tikhon may like to be invited here. He is retired now from the see of San Francisco and still enjoys making some very knowledgeable contributions to other Orthodox forums (fora if you like. )

I saw his video response and I wondered if he was addressing future St Tikhons Donors as a means to respond back to him as if he wanted to address their concerns. Even in a YouTube setting a few hundred can find his video. But responding wouldn't be so easy.

In this environment you address your concerns privately while still going in the public forum to be aware of a dilemna Churces are going through. NOT TO Make it more scandalous but easily aware of open dialogue and to see if any amicable solution can come out and the sort. Or maybe this is just too open an environment that the bishops don't want to do that. This is all on record btw which is highly benign for Synodical members to shoot themselves in the foot when they provide short and concise answers. Were still arguing threads here long after after they've been pretty much given the run through. Im saying I wouldn't want this to be No HOLDS Barred fight club but filtered topics given to bishops in their Synod meeting can work.

I think it is yet to be determined what this site will/should be used for. If a bishop would like to join they have the freedom to do so. If they want to see our arguments and utilize them, again that's their right/freedom. Whether or not we should promote the site? OF COURSE WE SHOULD! But let's not get ahead of ourselves...

While it's not impossible for the Bishops to read forums such as this, I hardly think they have the time to do so.

You might be surprised...

With all due respect Father, while I am not saying it is implausible for Bishops to read the forums, I would hardly call this the most direct route to register a concern or complaint.

It is a rather good place though if you want to get a variety of opinion. Also, people require each other to back things up on OCNET which is very helpful for anyone who wants to be thorough about a topic/issue.

I don't think most Bishops would find our discussions here that helpful -- especially since many of the posters probably aren't even under their omophorion. We've got a wide diversity of posters, both in terms of jurisdiction and location.

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But for I am a man not textueel I wol noght telle of textes neuer a deel. (Chaucer, The Manciple's Tale, 1.131)

While it's not impossible for the Bishops to read forums such as this, I hardly think they have the time to do so.

You might be surprised...

With all due respect Father, while I am not saying it is implausible for Bishops to read the forums, I would hardly call this the most direct route to register a concern or complaint.

I agree with you that it is not the most direct route to register a concern or complaint, but I can assure you that I know for a fact that there are bishops who read this forum.

I doubt they are doing it for any methodical research purposes but I do believe that forums give some idea of what people are thinking and how they are interacting. Plus, some of them just enjoy reading forums...for fun

I haven't even bothered to manage to check out listserv of the OCA board. How do they get the buzz of whats going on on Laity-level when we have a problem? Do they read this and other fora(s)? What do they think?

This forum is no big deal. It is hardly representative of Orthodoxy throughout the world given it's membership numbers and the fact that the vast majority of members don't even post. No bishop in their right mind would use OCnet or any other internet forum as a way of having his "finger on the pulse". list servers, internet forums etc always attract the very vocal extreme minority since it costs nothing to have a potentially global sized soap box.

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If you're living a happy life as a Christian, you're doing something wrong.

I haven't even bothered to manage to check out listserv of the OCA board. How do they get the buzz of whats going on on Laity-level when we have a problem? Do they read this and other fora(s)? What do they think?

This forum is no big deal. It is hardly representative of Orthodoxy throughout the world given it's membership numbers and the fact that the vast majority of members don't even post. No bishop in their right mind would use OCnet or any other internet forum as a way of having his "finger on the pulse". list servers, internet forums etc always attract the very vocal extreme minority since it costs nothing to have a potentially global sized soap box.

I think it would be foolish to primarily rely on an internet forum or blogs, but I think it is part of the data nevertheless. Especially given the recent success of forums and blogs in exposing corruption, it would be a good idea to monitor forums and blogs to get an idea of what some people are talking about. I doubt you can say it is an extreme vocal minority either, since as far as I can tell, most viewpoints are represented across the various forums and blogs. Vocal though I would agree on.

I haven't even bothered to manage to check out listserv of the OCA board. How do they get the buzz of whats going on on Laity-level when we have a problem? Do they read this and other fora(s)? What do they think?

This forum is no big deal. It is hardly representative of Orthodoxy throughout the world given it's membership numbers and the fact that the vast majority of members don't even post. No bishop in their right mind would use OCnet or any other internet forum as a way of having his "finger on the pulse". list servers, internet forums etc always attract the very vocal extreme minority since it costs nothing to have a potentially global sized soap box.

I think it would be foolish to primarily rely on an internet forum or blogs, but I think it is part of the data nevertheless. Especially given the recent success of forums and blogs in exposing corruption, it would be a good idea to monitor forums and blogs to get an idea of what some people are talking about. I doubt you can say it is an extreme vocal minority either, since as far as I can tell, most viewpoints are represented across the various forums and blogs. Vocal though I would agree on.

1) At present this forum has 3,262 members, of which less than 100 constitute active posters. That in itself is an extremely small minority.

2) The forums and blogs which you say have "success in exposing corruption" do not represent "most viewpoints", they are skewed, and in two cases exist based on the assumption that allegations of corruption are tue.

3) Truth is not about "viewpoints", its about facts.

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If you're living a happy life as a Christian, you're doing something wrong.

I would just say that I know some of the bishops do check out what's happening on the internet. Some of them don't read it directly, but hear about it from their staffers, who keep them informed about what's being said.

For example, consider the recent hype over Metropolitan +JONAH's infamous sermon. He gave a sermon that he probably didn't think would be heard/read/seen by the entire world. But that's YouTube for you, and the internet, and the fora, etc. His sermon made it all the way back to the Patriarch. And how, I would ask? The number of people in that church when he gave it was relatively few, and chances are few, if any, of them were scandalized enough by it to call other people and spread the word. The reason it went all over the country and all the way back to the Patriarch was because of the internet. It can, indeed, be a useful tool for spreading the word...

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Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.Matthew 18:5

1) At present this forum has 3,262 members, of which less than 100 constitute active posters. That in itself is an extremely small minority.

I agree in terms of numbers, but the question is is it a representative sample? I would say in some ways yes; on this forum for instance we have basically all positions that I have encountered in "real world" parishes, monasteries, and seminaries and even a smattering of non-Orthodox academic approaches too, all interacting. But again, I did state that I believe it is merely part of the data.

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2) The forums and blogs which you say have "success in exposing corruption" do not represent "most viewpoints", they are skewed, and in two cases exist based on the assumption that allegations of corruption are tue.

I didn't mean that only the forums and blogs exposing corruption are respresentative, but that the totality of forums and blogs do demonstrate many if not most of the positions that I have encountered in real-world Orthodoxy so to speak. I do agree that there is a slant on those two blogs, but again, they did in fact lead to something in the "real world." So it would be a good idea for various people in positions of authority to keep an eye out for trends that might be developing, as but one part of a greater campaign to constantly be aware of what is going on inside one's diocese, etc. Technology is here to stay, is going to keep growing. It can be used to one's advantage or disadvantage. I'm sure that some people who ignored the power of blogs to expose corruption are wishing they had not, and I bet they feel the same way as people who were against newspapers back in the day.